A ZOO has revealed the name of its new baby girl chimpanzee, which was chosen as a result of a competition.

The Welsh Mountain Zoo has picked the name Vicky for its new arrival - the first to be born at the Colwyn Bay attraction in 18 years.

Mum Katie has been carrying her infant around the enclosure and showing her off to keepers, who are closely monitoring their progress.

The zoo invited supporters to put forward names for the special arrival; as part of a contest, the public were asked to submit a name to honour a 'selfless NHS worker' and give a donation to the zoo on their fundraising page.

A spokesperson for the zoo said: "It is with the greatest of joys that we announce that the name of the baby chimp has been randomly selected.

"Monday, May 18 marks the zoo's 57th birthday and despite these worrisome times that we are currently living in, the birth of a chimp, the first in 18 years here at the zoo, helps make this birthday that more memorable.

"The baby chimp has been named Vicky, suggested in honour of an NHS hero who works at Cardiff Hospital.

"Thank you to everyone that has donated and suggested a name for this little bundle of joy.

"We wanted to show our heartfelt gratitude and respect for our NHS heroes through this special name recognition competition and we hope that this has brought a smile to the faces of all these workers whilst they continue to keep the nation going during these very difficult times."

Talking about the arrival of the chimp, Kim Wood, director of Living Collections at the zoo, said: “This is wonderful news for the Zoo, particularly during this time of lockdown, and marks our first baby chimp in almost two decades.

"To say we’re all very excited here is an understatement."

“Baby is absolutely adorable and I’m pleased to say she is making great progress.

“Life here continues as normal for our many residents who are, of course, unaware of the challenges we face in keeping the zoo fully operational."

Chimpanzees are classed as an endangered species.

The zoo is part of an European-wide breeding programme which makes this latest arrival cause for celebration.

The attraction is home to 11 chimpanzees .

Very similar to humans, mums are pregnant with their baby’s for about eight months.